November 1, 2020
Mark Slapinski
OPINION
CANADA - With the 2020 US election looming over our heads, and the trail of corruption spun by Trump and his gang of co-accomplices, it is easy to forget that Canada has its own problems with dishonest politicians.
Justin Trudeau gained international notoriety for being the “blackface Prime Minister”, a move even far-right media outlets couldn’t ignore. Trudeau has faced allegations as of late due to shady business dealings with WE charity.
He continues to face questions over his connections to a suspected casino-gangster / human trafficking don - a man named Wei Wei. Trudeau was seen standing in a picture with the accused criminal, but like a lot of hard questions, Trudeau has mostly chosen to deflect.
The corruption seen from Trudeau’s government is dwarfed by the trail of corruption paved by the previous Prime Minister - Stephen Harper.
Here’s 5 times former Prime Minister Harper and his party were caught engaged in “questionable behaviour” or outright corruption:
- In the 2011 election, robocalls from a conservative party staffer misdirected voters away from the polls. The violations were brought before a judge. While condemning the tactics, the judge stopped short of overturning the election results.
- In 2011, the Conservative government was found to have been in contempt of court “when the international aid minister lied about the defunding of charitable organization KAIROS, and cabinet’s refusal to reveal the costs of corporate tax cuts, criminal justice measures, and the beleaguered F-35 fighter jet program.”
- In 2009, the Conservatives prorogued Parliament to shut down embarrassing revelations about the Afghan detainee scandal.
- Peter McKay - Harper’s Finance Minister - was caught billing taxpayers over $16,000 to use a “search and rescue” helicopter to take him to a fishing lodge.
- Tony Clement - Harper’s Senior Cabinet Minister - gave $50,000,000 of taxpayer money to his own riding in Muskoka for “infrastructure” projects. A subsequent investigation by the auditor general showed funds were doled out with no bureaucratic oversight or paper trails. Clement was later promoted to President of the Treasury Board, the department that oversees government spending.
Whether one looks up, down, left, or right, the corruption is everywhere, and the corruption runs deep.
While Trudeau dodged any serious blowback from the WE scandal, and the recent, but underreported internet scandal, it is very likely we’ll be hearing about the next one in a short while.